by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Clinical therapist/ trauma specialist and CEO of the Centre for Human Development, Hanif E Benjamin, said recently: “The country has become a very cold and uncaring one… We are not taking charge in protecting our children, the most vulnerable. We are not treating the children like our future… we need to say to ourselves we are the responsible ones, our children cannot protect themselves, they are not just a mother’s or a father’s responsibility, but a society’s responsibility…there are families in crisis and there is no proper support system in place” (Newsday, June 20).
In that report, Darcel Choy reminded us that from January to June 20, 17 children, ages12 and under, had “lost their lives in tragic circumstances, including murder, drowning, fires and freak accidents”. And, for many of our children who survive the daily trials in T&T, there seems to be no respite.
In his homily at the inauguration of his pontificate, Pope Francis reminded us that we are “guardians of each other… The vocation of being a ‘protector’… means…showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need… It means caring for one another… Only those who serve with love are able to protect!”
If we shoulder Jesus’ yoke and learn from him, we will serve with love (see today’s Gospel, Matthew 11:25-30). As Fr Munachi Ezeogu says: “The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our Christian responsibilities and duties.” We will find rest for our souls if we “live” the Good News. This also means speaking out in the face of injustices.
The President of the T&T Association of Magistrates, Alexander Prince, is reported in last week’s Saturday Express as saying that he “wants the relevant authority to intervene, after being told that the St Jude’s School for Girls was unable to accommodate a teenager ordered to stay at the institution”. A 14-year-old girl had been taken before the Sangre Grande Magistrates’ Court. After being deemed to be uncontrollable, she was sent to St Jude’s but was taken back to court the following day as St Jude’s was full. St Jude’s, a certified industrial school and rehabilitation centre, now has 61 girls who are there for a number of reasons, e.g. conviction for wrongdoing or for being victims of abuse.
St Michael’s Home for Boys in Diego Martin is the only other industrial school/rehabilitation centre recognised under the Children’s Act.
Magistrate Prince said: “Magistrates’ hands are tied with how to deal with children who come before us. Whether they are delinquent or beyond control, we have nowhere to send them. The authorities should look into the situation as it means the children have to return to the community where they have been abused since we have no other avenue to send them.”
Minister Clifton De Coteau said recently that the sum of $1.2M has been allocated to “improve the lives of residents”. Some of the girls there had protested the conditions by overturning beds.
We need more than this intervention scheme. It’s more than a year since Prof Selwyn Ryan and his team presented their report “No time to quit: Engaging Youth at Risk.” CCSJ urges those in authority to act on the recommendations contained therein. The committee recommended greater government funding for youth correctional facilities.
Recommendations include: “The St Michael’s School for Boys should be refurbished in the shortest possible time and should take into account the erection of a manager’s house, dormitories, a classroom bloc and library, a multipurpose indoor court, a space for worship. Secure fencing and well kept playing fields should be included. It should be conceived as a model secure environment for young offenders and staffed accordingly…
“A similar institution should be established for young female offenders who are currently housed at the Women’s Prison at Golden Grove. The secure environment should be located at a site away from Golden Grove…
“Government should increase its subventions to young offenders’ institutions for girls such as St Jude’s School and St Dominic’s School and assist in their upgrade…Additionally, an Inspectorate of Young Offenders’ Institutions should be established to regulate standards, codes of conduct and curriculum delivery and to conduct performance appraisals of staff of these institutions including those run by NGOs and CBOs. The inspectorate should be under the control of the Ministry of Justice.”
The late Dana Seetahal described the situation in T&T as “untenable” when in December 2013 an 11-year-old girl was sent to the women’s prison. A number of under-aged girls have been sent there in the past. Seetahal said: “No Government has ever built an orphanage or industrial school for children.” All four official institutions – St Dominic’s, St Mary’s, St Jude’s and St Michael’s – have been privately established.
Our children are a gift from God. Let us create conditions in T&T in which they can flourish.
